John Collins reacts to the opening night back-to-back game against the Jazz

ByNBAUSA



LOS ANGELES, CA— John Collins and his new look LA Clippers will begin the regular season on Wednesday, October 22 and hope to end with the franchise’s first NBA championship. First on the list: Collins’ former team at Utah Jazz.

Collins played two seasons with the Jazz from 2023 to 2025 after being traded from the Atlanta Hawks. He played in just 108 games over those two seasons, averaging 16.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 53 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from three.

Although he was only 26 and 27 years old during his tenure in Utah, Collins was the third and fourth most experienced players on the roster. Without his own choice, the striker quickly became a vet for the younger players in the team.

“I love it,” John Collins said. “I love leading the young guys, I love being a junior vet, being able to relate. It’s just the look that I have or what the younger guy has when they need help, they need some guidance or just a push in the right direction and I just like to try to push them in that right direction and hopefully I’ll let you figure that out for yourself, but if you need help to always make those people better, I’m just going to enjoy making those people better, I’ll just enjoy it.

Collins was fired at the end of both seasons with the Utah Jazz, largely because he was too productive for a team that almost publicly admitted to playing in the draft.

Now John Collins will return to the city where he had two of the most productive years of his career.

“I mean, I hope it’s a good reception,” Collins said of the jazz crowd. “I hope it was a good reception. It was tough, my road, my road, my Kobe years there. I tried to enjoy and build with the young guys as much as I could. In short, I hope it’s a positive hug. If not, it is what it is. But I definitely have love for the fans, my players and the people who are there, Howe built a relationship.”

In four preseason appearances with the Clippers, Collins averaged 12 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists on 59.3 percent shooting from the field and 57.1 percent from three in 17 minutes per game.

Although not expected to start, Collins is expected to play a significant role for the Clippers off the bench this season. Despite being in a contract year, the forward said at the start of camp that he wasn’t worried about starting or coming off the bench.

“Sort of, but not really at the end of the day,” John Collins told ClutchPoints when asked if the start is important to him. “I am or not, as long as I have the biggest impact, the most effective impact, whatever is best for the team, that’s what’s more important. The start is cool, but it is what it is.”

In his first eight seasons in the NBA, John Collins averaged 16 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 54.6 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three.





2025-10-20 19:05:00

Similar Posts